DEF Purity from Start to Finish will Keep You Rolling

And the real science lies in the last part of that equation – keeping your DEF pure all the way from the plant, until it flows into the consumer’s tank.

 

Experts say a single misstep along the way can lead to disastrous results. Contaminated DEF, or off-spec DEF with too much urea or water, can trigger a vehicle’s SCR system to de-rate horsepower or shutdown a vehicle completely, or can harm the SCR system itself, said Charles Culverhouse, Global General Manager DEF at PEAK Commercial and Industrial, makers of BlueDEF®.

 

Which is why PEAK Commercial & Industrial is both ISO compliant and API certified, and goes several steps beyond mere compliance when producing and shipping its BlueDEF®, Culverhouse said.

 

Testing At Every Stage of Production

 

For example, every batch of high-grade urea is tested for purity when it arrives at the BlueDEF® blending facilities. Once properly mixed with de-ionized water, it is sampled and tested by a third-party laboratory for purity and on-spec composition.

 

At the distributor level, it is often tested again, Culverhouse said.

 

Dedicated Truck and Rail Cars

 

And quality control continues beyond the plant. PEAK Commercial & Industrial maintains a dedicated fleet of truck and railcars to prevent contamination during transit.

 

“On top of compliance and certification, we also have dedicated BlueDEF delivery trucks, unlike some of our competitors who use common carriers, which carry different industrial chemicals and often do nothing more than a quick rinse of the trucks before they put DEF in them.

 

“It is the same thing with our railcars, they’re dedicated to BlueDEF so we know there’s no co-mingling of DEF and other products.”

 

Specialized Storage and Pumping

 

Finally, PEAK Commercial and Industrial provides its customers with their exclusive tried-and-tested storage and pumping equipment to further ensure purity.

 

“You need to make certain that you’re not contaminating the product because that is easily done, ” Culverhouse said. “You need the proper storage and pumping equipment. Most petroleum equipment for fuel or lubricants will degrade or contaminate diesel exhaust fluid.”

 

“We’ve seen end-users installing cheap equipment that is not compatible with DEF. In many cases their SCR systems have been de-rated or damaged due to the contaminates that have been introduced due to the non-compliant storage and dispensing equipment. Some people really have to be hit in the pocketbook to wake up and realize that you need to buy good quality product on the DEF-side and the equipment side.”

 

All of which helps PEAK maintain the top two industry approvals: An ISO22241 compliant product and a DEF-certified designation by the American Petroleum Institute.

 

“The ISO22241 standard speaks to everything from production to distribution, storage and handling,” Culverhouse said. “In turn, API certification includes testing of our product to ensure it meets the ISO standards.

 

“And we hold our distributors to the same high standards. So we go above and beyond anyone in the industry.”